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Post by catman on Nov 12, 2023 6:52:05 GMT -5
The pressure to win against VMI has really ramped up with Mercer's win over Samford. Mercer ends their regular season at 8-3 and it's almost a certainty they will grab one of the at-large bids. Now we must win and hope the playoff selection committee believes the SoCon is worthy of 2 At-Large bids in addition to Furman's automatic bid.
Even with a win over VMI it's going to require something out of the norm for WCU to get in. However, 8 wins should be enough.
Looking back: Number Of SOCON teams in the playoffs:
2022 - 2 Teams Furman and Samford
2021 - 1 Team ETSU (Mercer at 7-3 Not invited)
2020 - 1 Team VMI
2019 - 2 Teams Wofford and Furman 2018 - 2 Teams Wofford and ETSU
2017 - 3 Teams Samford, Furman and Wofford |
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Post by wcugrad95 on Nov 12, 2023 7:04:33 GMT -5
The numbers for the SOCON have been down since App State and GaSo left. I’ll have to do some digging, but I am not sure any 8-win team who also finished with 6 wins in league play has NOT made it. I think I saw a comment on AGS that in the last 19 years there has only been maybe one 6-2 SOCON team not make it - and that was a year we had a 3-way tie for the championship and ironically Chattanooga missed the playoffs.
The league has gotten a little more respect this season. After yesterday I will not be surprised to see Furman stay at #2 in most polls and for WCU, UTC, and Mercer to be around the top-15. If we win to get to 8-3/6-2 and we are a top-15 ranked team hard for me to imagine we aren’t in. UTC would be the bigger stretch, but the SOCON should get 3 with a WCU win.
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Post by FLCATAMOUNT on Nov 12, 2023 16:35:39 GMT -5
The pressure to win against VMI has really ramped up with Mercer's win over Samford. Mercer ends their regular season at 8-3 and it's almost a certainty they will grab one of the at-large bids. Now we must win and hope the playoff selection committee believes the SoCon is worthy of 2 At-Large bids in addition to Furman's automatic bid.
Even with a win over VMI it's going to require something out of the norm for WCU to get in. However, 8 wins should be enough.
Looking back: Number Of SOCON teams in the playoffs:
2022 - 2 Teams Furman and Samford
2021 - 1 Team ETSU (Mercer at 7-3 Not invited)
2020 - 1 Team VMI
2019 - 2 Teams Wofford and Furman 2018 - 2 Teams Wofford and ETSU
2017 - 3 Teams Samford, Furman and Wofford I have been saying this and that is why we have to win these last 2 games by a wide margin. Mission accomplished against ETSU. Now, we have to beat VMI in a similar fashion. If we beat VMI by a touchdown or less, we are not getting in the playoffs. The SoCon will more than likely only get 2 teams in. Since it has been 40 years since we got in, a Missouri Valley team that goes every year consistently with a 7-4 record will get in before we do. We can only control the outcome of the VMI game so we have to win big and then hope we get in. I think with a BIG WIN OVER VMI our chances are 50 to 60 percent at best. |
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Post by The Cats on Nov 12, 2023 17:10:31 GMT -5
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Post by retiredcat on Nov 12, 2023 17:17:49 GMT -5
I think you are spot-on about the playoff scenario. We MUST be impressive at VMI. Also, I am worried about Mercer...same record with a win over us. Chattanooga is a long shot as we beat them. If they would somehow play well at Alabama, their stock would rise. Plus, our resume is not as strong as it was a couple weeks ago. Not including the Mercer disaster, Eastern Kentucky has struggled lately and Samford is not as good as predicted and...as you stated... the SoCon's lack of playoff success over the past 10 seasons does not help us. Just hope we beat VMI by at least two TDs and there is some slippage by the teams in front of us. We might need a scenario like we saw on the last day of the 1983 season when we were in a somewhat similar situation but in a much smaller playoff pool. I don't know if we can get "Divine Intervention" again.
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Post by cbyland on Nov 12, 2023 17:40:11 GMT -5
The pressure to win against VMI has really ramped up with Mercer's win over Samford. Mercer ends their regular season at 8-3 and it's almost a certainty they will grab one of the at-large bids. Now we must win and hope the playoff selection committee believes the SoCon is worthy of 2 At-Large bids in addition to Furman's automatic bid.
Even with a win over VMI it's going to require something out of the norm for WCU to get in. However, 8 wins should be enough.
Looking back: Number Of SOCON teams in the playoffs:
2022 - 2 Teams Furman and Samford
2021 - 1 Team ETSU (Mercer at 7-3 Not invited)
2020 - 1 Team VMI
2019 - 2 Teams Wofford and Furman 2018 - 2 Teams Wofford and ETSU
2017 - 3 Teams Samford, Furman and Wofford I have been saying this and that is why we have to win these last 2 games by a wide margin. Mission accomplished against ETSU. Now, we have to beat VMI in a similar fashion. If we beat VMI by a touchdown or less, we are not getting in the playoffs. The SoCon will more than likely only get 2 teams in. Since it has been 40 years since we got in, a Missouri Valley team that goes every year consistently with a 7-4 record will get in before we do. We can only control the outcome of the VMI game so we have to win big and then hope we get in. I think with a BIG WIN OVER VMI our chances are 50 to 60 percent at best. While winning big helps us look great and may mean the difference in hosting round 1 or playing on the road. I believe we get in as long as we win either by 1 or 50. I think all we have to do is win. I think VMI is a little bit better than ETSU and Wofford and we get them on the road. So I truly believe the only thing we must do is Win to get in, no matter how close or far the score. Of course, if we lose, we do not get in The SoCon looks strong this year especially the top 5. I think this years SoCon reminda me of the time App St, Ga So, Wofford, and Furman where constantly fighting for a playoff spot. If we win next week, the SoCon gets 3 in the playoffs. |
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Post by cullowheeguy on Nov 12, 2023 18:14:04 GMT -5
Just saw Huff on Furman has a shoulder injury he got in the UT Chatt game and didn’t play against VMI. I won’t if that will hurt their seeding.
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Post by The Cats on Nov 12, 2023 19:00:58 GMT -5
Just saw Huff on Furman has a shoulder injury he got in the UT Chatt game and didn’t play against VMI. I won’t if that will hurt their seeding. IMO, all the poll voters are circling the wagons around Montana/Montana State to move Furman down to at least #4. If Furman gets moved out of the #2 spot, down to #4, that's where they will probably be seeded as well. That bad, as it means they will be on the same side of the bracket as SDSU and have to eventually play in the semi-final (if they get that far) at SDSU. A #2 seed would give them home games until Frisco (again, if they made it that far)... |
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Post by FLCATAMOUNT on Nov 12, 2023 19:07:49 GMT -5
IMO if the SoCon only gets 2 teams in this year, it will be Furman and Mercer. The SoCon may get 3 teams in but 3 teams in the SoCon is rare for the SoCon. Even with a win against VMI, we still may be on the outside looking in. I think we deserve to be in but there are a lot of politics in who gets in and who does not.
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Post by wcu77 on Nov 12, 2023 19:18:56 GMT -5
I would hate to see Mercer in and we get left out, especially if we win at VMI. Mercer is a good team but we made every mistake we could possibly make against them and still had a chance to win that one. I really think without all the mistakes we beat them and they would be trying to be the third team in.
Maybe we make a substantial enough move in the polls this week to help our chances and then take care of winning at VMI to help solidify our case even more.
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